Shares of Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) soared more than 14% after the home furnishings retailer announced that its comparable-store sales jumped 11.2% in the fiscal second quarter. Total sales for the quarter ended Aug. 28 rose to $310 million from $287 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings for the fiscal second quarter are projected to be in a range of $0.10 to $0.12 per share, the firm said. Alex W. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "August was particularly strong with the biggest comp of the quarter. We continue to see strengths in all parts of the country and in all merchandise categories - with improvements in traffic, conversion and ticket.
Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) jumped more than 6% after it reported a 6.3 percent increase in same-store sales for the four-week period ended August 28, 2010 compared with the four-week period ended August 29, 2009. Preliminary total retail sales of $615 million for August 2010 increased 13.6 percent compared with total retail sales of $541 million for the same period in fiscal 2009.
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) rallied more than 4% after it announced that it has expanded its vertical manufacturing by successfully completing the installation and trial runs of the first production line of solar cells in its newly installed manufacturing facility in Xinyu City. The new solar cell manufacturing line currently has an annualized capacity of 60 megawatts (MW) and is expected to reach 120 MW by the end of the third quarter.
Shares of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: MPEL) surged more than 14% after Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said that gambling revenue in the world’s biggest gambling jumped 40 percent to 15.8 billion patacas ($2 billion) in August from a year earlier.
PostRock Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: PSTR) shot up as much as 65% after it announced that White Deer Energy L.P. has agreed to invest $60 million of equity in the Company. White Deer is a recently formed energy private equity firm. In connection with the investment, PostRock's debt will be reduced and its credit agreements restructured. White Deer will purchase $60 million of the Company's 12% cumulative redeemable preferred stock.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
